James Cameron Made a Very Nerdy Alteration to Titanic

Filmmaker James Cameron attends the Covenant House California 2011 Gala and Awards Dinner at the Skirball Center on June 9, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

When you see Titanic 3D (and you will, it’s mandatory, don’t fight this), you may be surprised to find that despite his propensity for director’s cuts, James Cameron hasn’t updated any of the 1997 movie’s then-revolutionary special effects: When the camera pulls back for an admiring long shot, the deck is still walked by stiffly animated characters from The Sims. However, there is one alteration so nerdy that Cameron felt compelled to make it. Noted astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson (whom you may know as a frequent Colbert Report guest or as the science killjoy who DQ’d Pluto as a planet) has carped for years that the star map in a very late nighttime scene was inaccurate, “So I said, ‘All right, you son of a bitch, send me the right stars for the exact time, 4:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, and I’ll put it in the movie,’” Cameron said. “So that’s the one shot that has been changed.” Still waiting to hear from Kate Winslet on how this change will reflect on Leonardo DiCaprio’s weight gain. Standing by!